A Bleeding Night [KH/FF]

Prologue

Prologue: The Assassination

You moved quickly down the darkened corridor, your leather boots making no sound as you went. You stuck close to the wall, using the shadows to your advantage. You were dressed all in black; even your hair was hidden under a black beanie, so you blended into the darkness seamlessly. You strained your hearing in an effort to pick up any noises and you forced your attention outwards, remaining hyper aware of your surroundings as you slowed to a stop in front of a mahogany door. This was it.

You reached out with a gloved hand, turning the door handle cautiously. The door opened with a soft click and you paused for a moment, ensuring there was no noise from inside before slowly opening the door. You stepped into the room, eyes darting around to take in all the possible exits, hiding places and threats as you shut the door gently behind you.

The bedroom was decorated lavishly, from what you could make out. There was a large bay window that could provide an escape route, the curtains pulled open to allow the moonlight to filter into the room. A large bed was situated in the middle of the room, a four poster monstrosity that was probably bigger than your own bedroom.

Inside the bed, a man in his late 50s was slumbering. Well, he was 58, if you were going to be precise. Though you couldn't see him in the poor lighting, you knew he had a shock of white hair that was normally carefully slicked back and a neatly trimmed beard. He was a tall man, standing at just under 6'6" and with a wiry frame. He had grown up in the world of Hollow Bastion before moving to Midgar in his early twenties, where he met a lovely woman whom he married and had three children with.

At the age of 43, his wife died in a freak boating accident and his children, rather disenchanted with their father, fled Midgar for greener pastures. Upon losing all of his family, he had turned to the crime world. He quickly built himself something of an empire, starting with a drug cartel and building his reach up to include human trafficking, prostitution, offering out paid thugs, and whole list of other nasty, illegal dealings.

His name was Alexander Mason, and he was going to die tonight.

You had been working tirelessly to infiltrate his empire, spending two years working your way up the ranks until you were trusted enough to be given the location of Mason's residence. You had received that information just that morning, and now it was finally time to complete your mission.

You made your way to the bed, footsteps as silent as the grave as your fingers curled around the handle of the dagger sheathed on your belt. You withdrew it with barely a sound as you finally reached him, staring down at the sleeping form with a curled lip. Tilting your head to the side, you lashed out with a quick movement and drew the blade across his throat.

Mason jerked awake, gurgling as blood started to pour from the wound. Pale grey eyes darted around in frantic confusion before landing on your impassive form. His eyes widened in shock and then realisation as you smiled pleasantly down at the crime lord.

"The Agency sends its regards," you said smoothly, voice dispassionate as you watched the life fade from him.

You stayed long enough to check his pulse, ensuring he was truly dead, before digging a handkerchief from your pocket and cleaning your dagger down. You re-sheathed it before looking down at the dead body, sighing as you removed a simple white business card from your back pocket. A silver insignia of a caduceus was all that was on the card, but you knew whoever found the body would recognise it.

You placed it on the pillow next to Mason's head before padding over to the window, throwing it open and quickly standing on the thin sill. You looked out at the expansive grounds for a long moment, appreciating the silence of the night before you crouched and launched yourself from the window and to the ground.

It was a quick fall – you were barely two stories up, after all – and then you were rolling on the ground before popping to your feet in a graceful movement. You headed away from the house without looking back and the darkness of the night swallowed you in moments.

-

So, there's the prologue of my brand new story, A Bleeding Night! I hope you all enjoyed it, and any and all feedback you'd be willing to leave would be much appreciated.

Chloe x